Courts martial of Canada are trials conducted by the Canadian Armed Forces. Such courts martial are authorized under the National Defence Act. [1] Civilians with a military unit also become subject to the courts-martial system. [1]
Most commonly, courts martial are convened to try members of the Canadian military for criminal violations of the Code of Service Discipline, which is the Canadian military's criminal code. [2] [1] The constitutionality of military courts martial was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Généreux, but changes were mandated to ensure judicial independence. [3] It was also determined that off-duty conduct can also fall under a court martial. [4]
Since 2014, decisions of Canada's courts martial have been available online. [5]
Decisions of Canadian courts martial can be appealed to the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, a body made up of civilian judges, with a further appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, by leave of the Supreme Court.